Diez años de una propuesta de enseñanza integradora y dinámica: el curso de Introducción a la Biología al ingreso universitario

El ingreso universitario plantea una serie de importantes desafíos para involucrar efectivamente a los estudiantes con la propuesta educativa que inician. El curso de Introducción a la Biología I es una unidad curricular multicarrera de la Universidad de la República (UdelaR), que se imparte en modalidad semipresencial en la Facultad de Ciencias y en las sedes regionales del Interior del país, con una matrícula de alrededor de 400 estudiantes. A lo largo de 10 años de trabajo y con el aporte de un dinámico equipo docente, se ha consolidado como propuesta educativa innovadora en su apuesta académica y en su progresiva descentralización. Con un fuerte énfasis en la motivación inicial, este curso propone acompañar al estudiante en el afianzamiento de competencias generales mediadas por la incorporación de competencias disciplinares jerarquizadas. El objetivo de este trabajo es compartir la reflexión sobre la construcción de esta propuesta y sobre las prácticas docentes en esta etapa de transición entre la educación media y la superior. El curso de Introducción a la Biología I / Biología General I es un curso multicarrera que se ha integrado a las ofertas curriculares de diversos centros de la Universidad de la República (UdelaR) tanto en Montevideo como en las Sedes Regionales del interior del país. Actualmente forma parte de los trayectos curriculares de las Licenciaturas en Ciencias Biológicas, Bioquímica, Biología Humana y Recursos Naturales de la Facultad de Ciencias, de los Ciclos Iniciales Optativos (CIO) de la macroárea Científico-Tecnológica en el Centro Universitario de la Regional Este (CURE) y de la Regional Norte (RN), y de las licenciaturas en Recursos Naturales y Biología Humana del Centro Universitario de Rivera (CUR). Además, se ha incorporado al currículo de las carreras que ofrece la Facultad de Química en la RN (Químico orientación Materiales, Químico agrícola y medio ambiente, Químico orientación calidad, Bioquímico clínico, Químico farmacéutico), a las carreras de Ingeniería de alimentos e Ingeniería química en esta misma sede universitaria y también como asignatura para las licenciaturas en Psicología y Gestión Ambiental en el CURE. Concebido inicialmente como una propuesta exclusiva de Facultad de Ciencias, desde 2003 este curso recibe y acompaña a los estudiantes en su ingreso universitario, con la responsabilidad de ser la única materia biológica del semestre. En los últimos 4 años, y en forma progresiva esta asignatura se imparte en forma semipresencial en la Facultad de Ciencias y en las sedes del interior a través del establecimiento de un aula virtual en el Entorno Virtual de Aprendizaje. El proceso de consolidación de esta propuesta de enseñanza y su exitosa descentralización paulatina constituyen una experiencia innovadora a compartir

Diez años de una propuesta de enseñanza integradora y dinámica : el curso de Introducción a la Biología al ingreso universitario

El ingreso universitario plantea una serie de importantes desafíos para involucrar efectivamente a los estudiantes con la propuesta educativa que inician. El curso de Introducción a la Biología I es una unidad curricular multicarrera de la Universidad de la República (UdelaR), que se imparte en modalidad semipresencial en la Facultad de Ciencias y en las sedes regionales del Interior del país, con una matrícula de alrededor de 400 estudiantes. A lo largo de 10 años de trabajo y con el aporte de un dinámico equipo docente, se ha consolidado como propuesta educativa innovadora en su apuesta académica y en su progresiva descentralización. Con un fuerte énfasis en la motivación inicial, este curso propone acompañar al estudiante en el afianzamiento de competencias generales mediadas por la incorporación de competencias disciplinares jerarquizadas. El objetivo de este trabajo es compartir la reflexión sobre la construcción de esta propuesta y sobre las prácticas docentes en esta etapa de transición entre la educación media y la superior. El curso de Introducción a la Biología I / Biología General I es un curso multicarrera que se ha integrado a las ofertas curriculares de diversos centros de la Universidad de la República (UdelaR) tanto en Montevideo como en las Sedes Regionales del interior del país. Actualmente forma parte de los trayectos curriculares de las Licenciaturas en Ciencias Biológicas, Bioquímica, Biología Humana y Recursos Naturales de la Facultad de Ciencias, de los Ciclos Iniciales Optativos (CIO) de la macroárea Científico-Tecnológica en el Centro Universitario de la Regional Este (CURE) y de la Regional Norte (RN), y de las licenciaturas en Recursos Naturales y Biología Humana del Centro Universitario de Rivera (CUR). Además, se ha incorporado al currículo de las carreras que ofrece la Facultad de Química en la RN (Químico orientación Materiales, Químico agrícola y medio ambiente, Químico orientación calidad, Bioquímico clínico, Químico farmacéutico), a las carreras de Ingeniería de alimentos e Ingeniería química en esta misma sede universitaria y también como asignatura para las licenciaturas en Psicología y Gestión Ambiental en el CURE. Concebido inicialmente como una propuesta exclusiva de Facultad de Ciencias, desde 2003 este curso recibe y acompaña a los estudiantes en su ingreso universitario, con la responsabilidad de ser la única materia biológica del semestre. En los últimos 4 años, y en forma progresiva esta asignatura se imparte en forma semipresencial en la Facultad de Ciencias y en las sedes del interior a través del establecimiento de un aula virtual en el Entorno Virtual de Aprendizaje. El proceso de consolidación de esta propuesta de enseñanza y su exitosa descentralización paulatina constituyen una experiencia innovadora a compartir

Social structure of Lahille’s bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus gephyreus (Cetacea: Delphinidae) off the uruguayan marine coast

Information about the social relations among individuals is essential to de ne and developmanagement plans for a socially structured population. Association data for 25 adult Lahille’s bottlenosedolphins were obtained from 189 photo-identi cation surveys that took place between January 2007 and May2009 in La Coronilla-Cerro Verde and Cabo Polonio, Rocha, Uruguay. Group size averaged 5.22 individuals(SD= 3.77, n= 255). Coe cients of association were calculated using the Half-Weight Index. Most of theassociations were weak (79.7%) and variation of real association indices was greater than would be expected bychance. Thus, the null hypothesis that individuals associated randomly was rejected. Standardized LaggedAssociation Rate analysis also indicated that nonrandom associations between individuals persisted over thestudy period. The exponential decay model that ts best to the data suggested the existence of constantcompanions and casual acquaintances. This study is the rst report about the social structure of the populationof Lahille’s bottlenose dolphin inhabiting the Uruguayan marine coasts. Cerro Verde and Cabo Polonio werethe rst marine protected areas selected by the government of Uruguay. However, information about theecology and behavior of the species in these areas is still insu cient. It is recommended that the results of thisstudy be taken as baseline information to assess the conservation status of this population, as well as for thedevelopment of adequate conservation and management plans.Para una población socialmente estructurada, disponer de información sobre las relaciones sociales entre individuos es esencial para definir y desarrollar planes de manejo. Se obtuvieron datos de asociación para 25 toninas adultas a partir de 189 salidas de foto-identificación, realizadas entre enero 2007 y mayo 2009, en La Coronilla-Cerro Verde y Cabo Polonio, Rocha, Uruguay. El tamaño grupal promedió 5.22 individuos (DS = 3.77, n = 255). Los coeficientes de asociación se calcularon utilizando el Índice de Peso Medio. Las asociaciones fueron mayormente débiles (79.7%) y la variación de los índices de asociación fue mayor que lo esperado por azar. Por tanto, se rechazó la hipótesis nula de que los individuos se asociaron aleatoriamente. El análisis utilizando la Tasa de Asociación con Retardo Estandarizada también indicó que asociaciones no aleatorias persistieron durante el período de estudio. El modelo exponencial que mejor ajusta a los datos sugiere la existencia de compañeros constantes y compañeros casuales. Este estudio reporta por primera vez información sobre la estructura social de la población de toninas que habita la costa marina uruguaya. Cerro Verde y Cabo Polonio fueron las primeras áreas marinas protegidas por el gobierno de Uruguay. Sin embargo, aún es insuficiente la información sobre la ecología y el comportamiento de la especie en estas áreas. Se recomienda que los resultados de este estudio se tomen como información de base para evaluar el estado de conservación de esta población, así como para el desarrollo de planes adecuados de manejo y conservación

Daily patterns of activity in free-living Rio Negro Tuco-Tucos (Ctenomys rionegrensis)

Activity patterns are a fundamental aspect of the biology of many species, with important implications for survival and reproduction. Typically, such patterns of activity are thought to be entrained by light cues, raising intriguing questions about the nature of circadian rhythms in subterranean species, members of which spend virtually their entire lives in dark, underground burrows. As part of ongoing studies of the behavioural biology of the Rio Negro tuco-tuco (Ctenomys rionegrensis), we used data from free-living animals to characterize daily patterns of activity in this subterranean species of rodent. The locations of 5 radiocollared adults were recorded hourly for 72 consecutive hours during November, 2005. Analyses of 5 measures of activity based on these data revealed that individuals changed locations more often and moved greater distances between successive radio fixes during daylight hours. These data are consistent with studies of other ctenomyid rodents in suggesting that C. rionegrensis tends toward diurnality. Comparisons with other lineages of subterranean rodents indicate that activity patterns vary markedly among these burrow-dwelling mammals, with substantial intra- as well as inter-specific differences in activity reported

Short sleep duration and extremely delayed chronotypes in uruguayan youth: the role of school start times and social constraints

During adolescence, biological, psychosocial, and contextual factors converge in a “perfect storm” and have been put forward to explain the delay in chronotype observed at this age and the prevalence of disrupted sleep. This study provides evidence to support that chronotype and sleep patterns (particularly sleep duration) are socially constrained and to identify novel significant social predictors. Uruguayan public school activities are arranged in up to 4 shifts, creating a natural experiment to examine the effect of school timing on questionnaire-based assessments of sleep and chronotype. In this study, 268 high school students (15-18 years old) who attended school either on morning (0730 to 1130 h) or afternoon shifts (1130 h to 1530 h) responded to an adapted School Sleep Habits Survey. Students attending afternoon shifts had later chronotypes (a 1.5-h later midpoint of sleep on free days adjusted for sleep debt) than those attending the morning shift. Besides shift, evening social activities (including dinner time) were further identified as key predictors of late chronotypes, whereas age and gender were not. Sleep on school days was overall advanced and reduced with respect to weekends, and these effects were stronger in morning-shift students. Weekend sleep duration was similar between shifts, which probably caused the prevalence of reduced sleep durations (average weekly sleep duration, SDweek <8 h) to be higher in morning-shift students (almost 80%) than in afternoon-shift ones (34%). Reduced sleep duration was significantly higher in morning-shift students. In addition, age, chronotype, and dinner time became relevant determinants of sleep deficit only in the morning-shift students. Besides the important social constraint of early school start time, this is the first study to confirm the significance of other types of social pressures on both adolescents’ chronotype and sleep deficit, which can be useful as potential new targets for effective policies to protect adolescent sleep.ANII: POS_NAC_2015_1_1096

The impact of training shifts in dancers’ chronotype and sleep patterns

Presentado al XV Latin-American Symposium on ChronobiologyCircadian preferences (chronotypes) as well as human sleep patterns depend on internal and environmental factors including social demands. School and work shifts are advantageous tools for studying the way social pressures impact on the biological clock. We took advantage of the Uruguayan public professional training in dance organized in two different shifts (morning, 8:30 to 12:30, and night, 20:00 to 24:00) to evaluate the influence of shifts on sleep timing and individual circadian preferences of dancing trainees (n=56) from data obtained by questionnaires (Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, MCTQ, and Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, MEQ) and sleep logs (SL). Although the outputs of MEQ and MCTQ significantly correlated, nocturnal dancers reported later chronotypes (measured by MCTQ) than morning dancers, but no differences in their circadian preferences measured by MEQ. Both MCTQ and SL showed that nocturnal dancers scheduled their sleep significantly later than morning ones during work and free days

Should I study or should I go (to sleep)? The influence of test schedule on the sleep behavior of undergraduates and its association with performance.

Sleep is crucial for college students’ well-being. Although recommended sleep duration is between 7–9 hours per day, many students do not sleep that much. Scholar demands are among the causes of observed sleep deprivation in youth. We explored the influence of having a school test on previous night sleep in first-year students and the association of sleep duration and test performance. We ran two surveys in freshman students of the Universidad de la Repu´ blica, Montevideo, Uruguay: 1) 97 students of the School of Sciences who took the test at the same time; and 2) 252 School of Psychology students who took the test in four successive shifts. More than 1/2 of the participants (survey #1) and almost 1/3 (survey #2) reported short regular sleep duration (< 7h). In both samples, the sleep duration of the night before the test was reduced with respect to regular nights (survey #1: 2.1 ± 0.2 h, p < 0.001; survey #2: between 1.7 ± 0.4 h and 3.6 ± 0.3 h, all p < 0.001), with more than 10% of the students who did not sleep at all. In survey 2, sleep duration increased in later shifts (F (3,248) = 4.6, p = 0.004). Using logit regressions, we confirmed that sleep duration was positively related to test scores in both samples (survey #1: exp B = 1.15, p < 0.001; pseudo-R2 = 0.38; survey #2: exp B = 1.03, p < 0.001; pseudo-R2 = 0.25). Delaying test start time may prevent the reduction in sleep duration, which may also improve school performance. In addition, educational policies should include information for students about the impact of sleep on learning and of the consequences of reduced sleep duration

Extreme late chronotypes and social jetlag challenged by Antarctic conditions in a population of university students from Uruguay

AbstractIn humans, a person’s chronotype depends on environmental cues and on individual characteristics, with late chronotypes prevailing in youth. Social jetlag (SJL), the misalignment between an individual׳s biological clock and social time, is higher in late chronotypes. Strong SJL is expected in Uruguayan university students with morning class schedules and very late entertainment activities. Sleep disorders have been reported in Antarctic inhabitants, that might be a response to the extreme environment or to the strictness of Antarctic life. We evaluated, for the first time in Uruguay, the chronotypes and SJL of 17 undergraduate students of the First Uruguayan Summer School on Antarctic Research, using Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) and sleep logs (SL) recorded during 3 phases: pre-Antarctic, Antarctic, and post-Antarctic. The midsleep point of free days corrected for sleep debt on work days (MSFsc,) was used as proxy of individuals’ chronotype, whose values (around 6a.m.) are the latest ever reported. We found a SJL of around 2h in average, which correlated positively with MSFsc, confirming that late chronotypes generate a higher sleep debt during weekdays. Midsleep point and sleep duration significantly decreased between pre-Antarctic and Antarctic phases, and sleep duration rebounded to significant higher values in the post-Antarctic phase. Waking time, but not sleep onset time, significantly varied among phases. This evidence suggests that sleep schedules more likely depended on the social agenda than on the environmental light–dark shifts. High motivation of students towards Antarctic activities likely induced a subjective perception of welfare non-dependent on sleep duration

Chronotype-dependent changes in sleep habits associated with dim light melatonin onset in the Antarctic summer

Dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) is the most reliable measure of human central circadian timing. Its modulation by light exposure and chronotype has been scarcely approached. We evaluated the impact of light changes on the interaction between melatonin, sleep, and chronotype in university students (n = 12) between the Antarctic summer (10 days) and the autumn equinox in Montevideo, Uruguay (10 days). Circadian preferences were tested by validated questionnaires. A Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire average value (47 ± 8.01) was used to separate late and early participants. Daylight exposure (measured by actimetry) was significantly higher in Antarctica versus Montevideo in both sensitive time windows (the morning phase-advancing and the evening phase-delaying). Melatonin was measured in hourly saliva samples (18–24 h) collected in dim light conditions (<30 lx) during the last night of each study period. Early and late participants were exposed to similar amounts of light in both sites and time windows, but only early participants were significantly more exposed during the late evening in Antarctica. Late participants advanced their DLMO with no changes in sleep onset time in Antarctica, while early participants delayed their DLMO and sleep onset time. This different susceptibility to respond to light may be explained by a subtle difference in evening light exposure between chronotypes

Seasonal Variation in Female Mate Choice and Operational Sex Ratio in Wild Populations of an Annual Fish, Austrolebias reicherti

The intensity of mating competition and the potential benefits for female of mating with certain males can be influenced by several extrinsic factors, such that behavioral decisions can be highly context-dependent. Short-lived species with a single reproductive season are a unique model to study context-sensitive mating decisions. Through exhaustive sampling in the field and simultaneous choice tests in the laboratory, we evaluated operational sex ratio (OSR) and female mate choice at the beginning and end of the reproductive season in the annual killifish Austrolebias reicherti. We found seasonal change in both OSR and female mate choice. At the start of the reproductive season the OSR did not deviate from parity, and females preferred larger males. Later in the reproductive season, while the proportion of males in the ponds decreased, females became unselective with respect to male size. The particular biological cycle of annual killifish, where both life expectancy and mating opportunities decline sharply over a short timescale, could account for the seasonal change in female choice. Reduction in choosiness could arise from diminished reproductive prospects due to a decline in male availability. Moreover, as the end of the season approaches, any benefits of choosiness are presumably reduced: a female's fitness will be higher if she mates with any male than if she forgoes reproduction and dies. Future work will disentangle the mechanisms underlying seasonal changes in mating preferences, notably direct responses to demographic factors, environmental cues, or intrinsic changes during development